Refuse to Be Silent April 14

It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:20

Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Mark 6:15

Piety

Jesus, like Peter and John, give us the sense of justice needed to end the pain of injustice. Give us the fortitude and courage to overcome media-induced inaction. Give us the temperance to overcome indulgence in the wrong pursuits. Give us the prudence to act where action is needed to help those most affected by the lack of love in the world. Amen.

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/041407.shtml

After the Resurrection, what was going through Jesus’ mind? Do you think he may have been just a little exasperated, thinking, “What more must I do to get them to believe?”

His closest friends did not even believe each other until they could see with their own eyes. Day by day, when witness after witness encountered the Risen Christ, testimony led to belief. Believers were led to fulfill their mission which, in turn, led to more people believing and becoming a part of the early Christian Church.

Today, we hear about the disciples fulfilling that mission. As the civil and church authorities try to silence them like they silenced Jesus, Peter and John refuse to be silent.

Maybe now, Jesus would be able to sit up in Heaven at the right hand of the Father and experience a sense of accomplishment now that the disciples did believe and set out on the mission he commanded them to pursue?

Or is he waiting for each of us to take up our crosses, too? Is Jesus waiting for us to commit with passion to His commandment – Love one another as I have loved you. Love you enemies as yourselves.

Action

This week, we have once again witnessed a stunning example of the power of forgiveness in society. The accomplished women of the Rutgers University basketball team have forgiven a radio host for ugly and racially charged comments he made about them on the air of his former program. They are the latest example of people opting for love rather than division.

Society was quick to take sides in this war of words. But where are those pundits and other voices in society taking the side of love in more serious matters? The headlines scream injustice of epic proportions. FEMA lost more than 13.4 million meals while people in need throughout the world continue to die of hunger while living on less than $2 per day. Is Jesus waiting for us to do something about this? Where is the outrage and action in “Imus” proportions to this neglect of our sisters and brothers in need?

At least 450,000 people have died of violence and disease in the Darfur region of the Sudan in a campaign of genocide. Is Jesus waiting for us to do something about this? Where is the outrage and action in “Imus” proportions to this injustice?

As Christians called by scripture to welcome and care for the strangers among us, we must seize this moment and raise our voices in a debate that is too often tainted by prejudice and fear. That debate is the debate for immigration reform. Is Jesus waiting for us to do something about this? Where is the outrage and action in “Imus” proportions to the injustices done to immigrants?

Maybe these words and the perspective of Sojourners (www.sojo.net) will help spur people to action:

From the law in Leviticus to the words of Jesus, our faith is very clear about our obligations to the "strangers" and "aliens" in our midst. That's why Christian leaders from across the theological and political spectrum are coming together to support immigration reform that lives up to our moral and theological principles.

Are you willing to contact your representatives in Congress to make immigration reform fair and compassionate, specifically, asking that any immigration legislation includes:

- Border enforcement and protection initiatives that are consistent with humanitarian values;
- Reforms in our family-based immigration system that help to safely reunite separated families;
- An opportunity for all immigrant workers and their families already in the U.S. to come out of the shadows to pursue an earned legal status, leading up to citizenship; and
- A viable guest worker program that creates avenues for workers and their families to enter our country and work in a safe, legal, and orderly manner.

Refuse to be silent. “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Mark 6:15